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GRE Vocab
GRE prep
173
Language - English
Graduate
08/15/2010
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Term
antediluvian
 Definition
very old fashioned or out of date
Term
pusillanimous
 Definition
cowardly, timid, frightened
Term
jejune
 Definition
without significance, dull, juvenile
Term
kinesiology
 Definition
the science dealing with the interrelationship of the physiological processes and anatomy of the human body with respect to movement
Term
peregrination
 Definition
a journey, especially on foot
Term
prestidigitation
 Definition
sleight of hand; legerdemain
Term
peroration
 Definition
a long speech characterized by lofty and often pompous language
-or-
the end of a speech in which the speaker summarizes and exhorts
Term
apocryphal
 Definition
of doubtful authenticity; false; spurious
Term
countenance
 Definition
noun: appearance; approval/encouragement

verb: permit, approve
Term
evince
 Definition
to prove or make evident
Term
regale
 Definition
to entertain lavishly; to feast
Term
mendacious
 Definition
habitually dishonest; untrue
Term
truculent
 Definition
fierce, cruel, brutal, belligerent
Term
castigate
 Definition
to criticize or to punish
Term
indolence
 Definition
laziness
Term
excoriate
 Definition
to berate severely; to flay
Term
innocuous
 Definition
harmless; not interesting
Term
nugatory
 Definition
worthless, ineffective
Term
invidious
 Definition
calculated to create ill will or resentment or give offense
Term
plangent
 Definition
having a deep and resonating sound
Term
herpetology
 Definition
the study of reptiles and amphibians
Term
ichthyology
 Definition
the study of fishes
Term
senescence
 Definition
the process of becoming old
Term
superannuation
 Definition
the amount deducted regularly from employees' incomes in a contributory pension scheme
-or- the pension finally paid to such employees
Term
duplicitous
 Definition
deceitful
Term
insipid
 Definition
vapid, bland
Term
obstreperous
 Definition
unruly, boisterous
Term
redact
 Definition
revise, edit, draw up
Term
gainsay
 Definition
deny, oppose
Term
aberrant
 Definition
deviating from the norm
Term
alacrity
 Definition
eager and enthusiastic willingness
Term
approbation
 Definition
an expression of approval or praise
Term
capricious
 Definition
erratic, unpredictable, whimsy
Term
chicanery
 Definition
trickery or subterfuge
Term
disabuse
 Definition
to undeceive; to set right
Term
discordant
 Definition
conflicting; dissonant sound
Term
disparate
 Definition
essentially different
Term
enervate
 Definition
to weaken
Term
exigent
 Definition
urgent
Term
fulminate
 Definition
to loudly attack or denounce
Term
ingenuous
 Definition
frank, artless, sincere
Term
inured
 Definition
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
Term
irascible
 Definition
easily angered
Term
neologism
 Definition
a new word or usage
Term
obviate
 Definition
to anticipate and make unnecessary
Term
perspicacious
 Definition
perceptive, acute, shrewd, penetrating
Term
precipitate (adj)
 Definition
proceeding rapidly or with great haste; rash
Term
prevaricate
 Definition
to mislead
Term
recant
 Definition
retract - especially a held belief
Term
solicitous
 Definition
concerned and attentive; eager
Term
torque
 Definition
a force that causes rotation
Term
tortuous
 Definition
winding, twisting; excessively complicated
Term
abate
 Definition
to lessen in intensity
Term
bucolic
 Definition
rustic and pastoral
Term
cacophony
 Definition
harsh, jarring, discordant sound
Term
chary
 Definition
wary; cautious; sparing
Term
cogent
 Definition
appealing to reason; convincing
Term
complaisance
 Definition
willingness to comply with the wishes of others
Term
demur
 Definition
to question or oppose
Term
disinterested
 Definition
impartial
Term
emollient
 Definition
soothing, mollifying
Term
esoteric
 Definition
belonging to or understood by a select few
Term
furtive
 Definition
stealthy; surreptitious
Term
harangue
 Definition
a long, pompous speech
Term
impecunious
 Definition
lacking funds; without money
Term
incipient
 Definition
beginning to come into being
Term
inert
 Definition
unmoving; lethargic
Term
intransigent
 Definition
refusing to compromise
Term
inveigle
 Definition
to obtain by deception or flattery; beguile; wheedle
Term
penurious
 Definition
penny-pinching
Term
quiescence
 Definition
stillness; motionlessness
Term
redoubtable
 Definition
awe-inspiring
Term
torpid
 Definition
lethargic; sluggish; dormant
Term
aver
 Definition
state as fact; assert
Term
germane
 Definition
appropriate in subject matter; relevant
Term
halcyon
 Definition
calm and peaceful
Term
hegemony
 Definition
dominance
Term
iconoclast
 Definition
one who attacks traditional institutions
Term
impassive
 Definition
revealing no emotion
Term
impunity
 Definition
immunity from punishment
Term
inchoate
 Definition
not fully formed
Term
infelicitous
 Definition
unfortunate; inappropriate
Term
obdurate
 Definition
unyielding; intractable
Term
occlude
 Definition
obstruct
Term
opprobrium
 Definition
disgrace; contempt; scorn
Term
pedantic
 Definition
overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education
Term
pith
 Definition
the essential or central part
Term
pithy
 Definition
precise and brief
Term
polemical
 Definition
argumentative; controvesial
Term
prodigal
 Definition
recklessly wasteful; extravagant
Term
rancorous
 Definition
characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
Term
recalcitrant
 Definition
obstinately defiant of authority
Term
specious
 Definition
plausible but false
Term
spurious
 Definition
counterfeit; not genuine
Term
surfeit
 Definition
excess
Term
tenacity
 Definition
persistent determination
Term
tenuous
 Definition
flimsy; weak
Term
astringent
 Definition
having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
Term
credulous
 Definition
gullible
Term
dilettante
 Definition
one with an amateurish interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
Term
inimical
 Definition
damaging; injurious
Term
intractable
 Definition
stubborn; obstinate
Term
laconic
 Definition
using few words; terse
Term
mercurial
 Definition
characterized by unpredictable mood changes
Term
phlegmatic
 Definition
calm; sluggish; unemotional
Term
probity
 Definition
integrity
Term
prosaic
 Definition
dull; unimaginative
Term
rarefy
 Definition
to thin; to refine
Term
recondite
 Definition
hidden; difficult to understand
Term
refulgent
 Definition
radiant
Term
sedulous
 Definition
diligent
Term
spendthrift
 Definition
one who spends money wastefully
Term
trenchant
 Definition
sharply perceptive
Term
variegated
 Definition
multicolored
Term
vituperate
 Definition
to berate
Term
alloy
 Definition
to make less pure
Term
august
 Definition
majestic
Term
brook
 Definition
to tolerate, endure, countenance
Term
essay
 Definition
to test or try
Term
fell
 Definition
inhumanly cruel
Term
guy
 Definition
a rope attached to something as a guide
Term
intimate
 Definition
imply
Term
meet
 Definition
proper
Term
nice
 Definition
exacting, fastidious
Term
obtain
 Definition
to be accepted
"Those standards no longer obtain."
Term
pied
 Definition
multicolored
Term
plastic
 Definition
moldable
Term
quail
 Definition
to lose courage
Term
abjure
 Definition
to renounce; to avoid
Term
adumbrate
 Definition
to vaguely forshadow; to overshadow
Term
anodyne
 Definition
soothing
Term
apotheosis
 Definition
deification
Term
asperity
 Definition
severity; roughness; irritability
Term
asseverate
 Definition
to aver, allege, assert
Term
assiduous
 Definition
diligent, sedulous
Term
calumniate
 Definition
to slander
Term
captious
 Definition
faultfinding
Term
cavil
 Definition
to find fault without good reason
Term
celerity
 Definition
speed, alacrity
Term
contumacious
 Definition
insubordinate
Term
descry
 Definition
discern
Term
desuetude
 Definition
disuse
Term
desultory
 Definition
aimless
Term
diaphanous
 Definition
delicately hazy
Term
encomium
 Definition
glowing and enthusiastic praise
Term
execrate
 Definition
to abhor; to denounce
Term
exegesis
 Definition
critical examination
Term
expiate
 Definition
to atone for
Term
extirpate
 Definition
to destroy
Term
fatuous
 Definition
foolish or inane
Term
heterodox
 Definition
unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic
Term
imbroglio
 Definition
a complicated misunderstanding
Term
insouciant
 Definition
heedless
Term
inveterate
 Definition
deep rooted
Term
mendicant
 Definition
a beggar, supplicant
Term
meretricious
 Definition
alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry
Term
minatory
 Definition
menacing
Term
nadir
 Definition
low point, perigee
Term
nonplussed
 Definition
perplexed
Term
panegyric
 Definition
formal praise, encomium
Term
pellucid
 Definition
transparent
Term
prolix
 Definition
long-winded
Term
propitiate
 Definition
to appease
Term
puissance
 Definition
power
Term
pusillanimous
 Definition
cowardly
Term
sanguine
 Definition
cheerful, confident
Term
saturnine
 Definition
gloomy
Term
sententious
 Definition
aphoristic or moralistic
Term
stygian
 Definition
gloomy
Term
tendentious
 Definition
biased
Term
tyro
 Definition
novice
Term
vitiate
 Definition
to corrupt
Term
voluble
 Definition
fluent
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